BBC news article. Kids may go hungry over the summer.

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Originally started in Mrs Meldrum #50


BBC news report saying 3million children will go hungry this summer as parents struggle to feed them during the school holidays, yet she’s moaning and raging at the world because her husband is off working earning around 60k a year!??? Any sheep lurking here have a word with yourselves, why do you like her???
 
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BBC news report saying 3million children will go hungry this summer as parents struggle to feed them during the school holidays, yet she’s moaning and raging at the world because her husband is off working earning around 60k a year!??? Any sheep lurking here have a word with yourselves, why do you like her???
That mostly makes me wonder how so many parents thought it was a good idea to bring children into the world that they couldn't afford to feed.
 
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That mostly makes me wonder how so many parents thought it was a good idea to bring children into the world that they couldn't afford to feed.
Circumstances change for a lot of people. I have friends who were very well off. Probably earning more than mr meldrum but lost jobs and then poor mental health and a divorce. So it’s not always feckless unemployed lazy people having kids for benefits that need food banks.
In fact I think most users of food bank are that middle ground. Earn too much for government hell but due to high costs of housing etc find themselves in bad situations from time to time.
 
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Circumstances change for a lot of people. I have friends who were very well off. Probably earning more than mr meldrum but lost jobs and then poor mental health and a divorce. So it’s not always feckless unemployed lazy people having kids for benefits that need food banks.
In fact I think most users of food bank are that middle ground. Earn too much for government hell but due to high costs of housing etc find themselves in bad situations from time to time.
Completely agree that in some cases, a change of circumstances could be the culprit. Not 3 million though. (sorry, off topic, will leave it there).
 
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That mostly makes me wonder how so many parents thought it was a good idea to bring children into the world that they couldn't afford to feed.
Circumstances change. Some parents may have lost their jobs? Or, the high costs of childcare in school holidays affects shopping budgets? I find your comment quite narrow minded.
Or in my case, I'm struggling to feed my kids because they've eaten £80 of shopping in about 3 days. They have 2 breakfasts, 7 snacks, lunch, dinner, and god knows how many Ice poles 🤦‍♀️🤣
 
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Circumstances change. Some parents may have lost their jobs? Or, the high costs of childcare in school holidays affects shopping budgets? I find your comment quite narrow minded.
Or in my case, I'm struggling to feed my kids because they've eaten £80 of shopping in about 3 days. They have 2 breakfasts, 7 snacks, lunch, dinner, and god knows how many Ice poles 🤦‍♀️🤣
Mine too! But when I think of hunger, I think of nothing or little in the day. So sad if kids are actually hungry whatever the reason😔 My lot are like locusts.
 
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Mine too! But when I think of hunger, I think of nothing or little in the day. So sad if kids are actually hungry whatever the reason😔 My lot are like locusts.
I know what you mean, there's a little lad at school who isn't entitled to free meals but was always hungry and asking the dinner ladies for bread 😢 Mine are still at the age of getting free school meals, but I felt so sorry for him that I've sent my lad in with loads of extra snacks to share. hate thinking of kids going hungry.
Sorry for the off topic! X
 
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That mostly makes me wonder how so many parents thought it was a good idea to bring children into the world that they couldn't afford to feed.
Many will be victims of redundancy or unfaithful partners playing happy families with new partners and their kids or like my niece whose husband became depressed lost his job then hung himself there are many reasons for bairns living in poverty
 
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I know what you mean, there's a little lad at school who isn't entitled to free meals but was always hungry and asking the dinner ladies for bread 😢 Mine are still at the age of getting free school meals, but I felt so sorry for him that I've sent my lad in with loads of extra snacks to share. hate thinking of kids going hungry.
Sorry for the off topic! X
It's awful and kind of relevant to the topic, because Mrs bloody Meldrum has no idea of the struggles real people are facing! X
 
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Sorry if I seem to be making light of this I'm not! But you can buy bread and a tin of beans. Or shops own porridge oats for 30p. I do wonder how do many go hungry. Even if it's super noodles from Iceland for 50p. That said fuel prices for gas/electric are sky bloody high to cook stuff!
Would you want to live on bread, brand and porridge oats???
 
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That mostly makes me wonder how so many parents thought it was a good idea to bring children into the world that they couldn't afford to feed.
Circumstances can change, maybe things were fine when they had them but years on health problems, unexpected job loss, desertion, family tragedy, etc etc. We shouldn’t be so quick to judge.
 
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Would you want to live on bread, brand and porridge oats???
If it meant having a full tummy then I'd have to. My point is filling a hungry tummy. Surely that's better than hunger? I'm not saying it's ideal far from it but if the altenative is hunger then yes. It was a couple of examples. That possibly fuel prices arent helping either, none of which affect Mrs Meldrum.
 
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At least during the school year kids are being seen daily, someone can hopefully tell if there’s a problem, but during the summer holidays they can go weeks without seeing anyone.
I could easily believe that article

I don’t think it has anything to do with kids snacking too much 🤦‍♀️
That a completely different discussion to the one mentioned here imo.
 
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My last word on the subject. My comment about buying porridge etc...If my child and I feed 4 ( far from rich) was hungry and I could give them, porridge, beans on toast, egg with beans or a £1.00 lasagne I would. That is my point, because that would be a better alternative to hunger. Not that I agree it's right not that I'd like it either..course I wouldn't but I'd do it none the less so their stomachs were full. My apologies if you thought differently. Oh and if utility prices were lowered and capped that would be a start, to helping us all.
 
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Why are kids snacking so much?

There’s your problem!
Is that to me? If so, because they're kids? They're constantly running around, in and out, then complaining they're hungry, asking if they can take one for their friends too.
I was exaggerating slightly to be fair, maybe not 7 snacks, maybe 5 🤣
Fortunately, we can afford to feed our children, but my heart really goes out to those who struggle
 
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Circumstances change. Some parents may have lost their jobs? Or, the high costs of childcare in school holidays affects shopping budgets? I find your comment quite narrow minded.
Or in my case, I'm struggling to feed my kids because they've eaten £80 of shopping in about 3 days. They have 2 breakfasts, 7 snacks, lunch, dinner, and god knows how many Ice poles 🤦‍♀️🤣
Lol feel your pain 4 kids here and teen eats like an adult.
Its battle keep fruit bowl full.
Crisps , cakes and chocolate dont last.
Resorted doing a few things buying less fruit juice and fizzy drinks and getting varieties squash and flavoured waters.
Rationing and hiding treats cant quite manage that with lollies.
Buying boring snacks like yogurts/ raisins/ carrot sticks/breadsticks and biscuits jot fancy ones vakue cookies bourbans and digestive if they hungry they will eat them
Tinned or frozen fruit as backups when fresh run out.
Milk i struggle with as they snack on cereal.
Spent £45 lidls today unsure how long will lasts.
Can totally see how change circumstances.
Many years ago we had job loss for 6 or 7 weeks over the summer it was very hard.
Trying get any sorts benefits jsa and housing took weeks as does tax credits.
We were offered foodbank vouchers but dident take them up on it.
Instead i remember one month we went to big tesco and did massive nearly all value shop for 60 quid and that lasted the entire month. We picked free blackberries they all out now and regularly nightly looked at reductions.
Theres much less value lines in the main supermarkets now than used to be abd their prices crept up.
I made loads from scratch we got buy.
Now we still do shop around home bargains,b&m , Iceland aldis liidls local market but not everyone can easily shop around transport and time.
I regularly donate to foodbanks.
Infleuencers go on about meat free sometimes its not a choice.
Hardly any of them cool from scratch/budget and buy lots convenience.
 
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Personally I think that no matter what, children deserve to have access to adequate, nutritious food. Surely that should be considered a priority not far above safe drinking water?

Also while it’s an good point that you can buy oats/beans/bread/other staples for a very cheap price, having adequate calories is only part of the issue. The UK is ranked amongst the worst of the worlds richest countries for food security, meaning that a lot of children don’t have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. A child (or anyone) who lives off that sort of food alone is not going to be healthy. Deficiencies are more than feeling a bit rough - long term they can damage your organs and even lead to premature death. Nutritious foods like meat/meat substitutes, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds are so expensive especially when you consider the amount you pay for the calories you’ll get - but they’re needed in order to maintain a healthy diet

Also I just found out that more than a million people in the UK live in a food desert. Wow
 
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